Gary Foster of The Sunstreak

What’s up, everyone! My name is Gary Foster and I play drums and percussion with the Sunstreak. We’re a pop-rock band from Rochester, NY. We’re currently on tour, and I’m writing this blog from Nashville.

I am very excited to be sharing thoughts, rants, and crazy stories that seem to find their way into our daily life. We’re excited about the release of our new record, Once Upon a Lie, which was out in stores on October 6. Our single ‘‘Until I Met You’’ is out and available on iTunes. You can see the video at www.myspace.com/thesunstreak.

To give you my background, I’ve been playing for fifteen years, and I went to Berklee College Of Music with a major in performance. Going to Berklee was an amazing learning experience. I was surrounded by some of the most talented people from all over the world. It was also very humbling. I spent every moment playing and soaking up everything I could. I studied under Casey Scheuerell and had master classes with Rod Morgenstein and Dave DiCenso. Since ’02 I’ve been touring around the U.S. with some amazing bands. My biggest influences are Dave Grohl and Erik Sandin from NOFX (I played with NOFX in ’06). I’m also heavily influenced by Carter Beauford, Dennis Chambers, John Bonham, Keith Moon, Randy Castillo, Steve Gadd, Tommy Lee, and Josh Freese.

My current kit is a five-piece Tama Starclassic birch bubinga in a purple sparkle finish, with a 40-ply chamber snare from Truth Custom Drums. They sound amazing! But I think the most important tool to succeed is staying physically fit. It can be tough to kill it every night with long days, late-night drives, and a lack of sleep. But no excuses! As soon as the show starts it’s a bare-knuckle brawl, and you need to knock ’em out every time.